Do you wake up every morning inspired and full of energy or does the prospect of the morning wake up call fill you with dread?

Do you aspire to get the most out of every day or do you drift from day-to-day following the same old routine?

Do you want to make a substantial contribution to society or are you content watching life pass you by?

When was the last time you took a really big risk?

Have you ever taken a really big risk?

Do you want more from your life?

If you are not happy with your life, do you really expect better things to come without change?

Do you believe that you deserve to live your dream and have it all, whatever that means to you?

Are you prepared to do what it takes in order to live your dream life?

Are you prepared to sacrifice in order to live your dream life?

Is it even a sacrifice when the rewards are so much greater than the sacrifice itself?

Do you even know what it is you want to achieve in your lifetime?

Everyone has within them the potential for greatness.

Everyone has within them the potential to succeed.

Everyone has within them the potential to live their dream life.

Those who succeed refuse to sit on the sidelines.

They refuse to be second-best.

They refuse to let the bastards get them down.

They refuse to accept a life of mediocrity and disappointment. 

It is never too late.

Believe that you deserve to live your dreams.

All it takes is action.

Dare To Dream!

Enter the 15 minute reading experience.  With this simple technique you can cut down your reading time while still ensuring that you absorb as much of the relevant information from a text as possible.  We lead busy lives, and it is impossible to read everything that we want to read.  But by using this method, you can find time in even the busiest of days to complete a book from cover to cover.

How Does It Work?

The name of the method highlights its simplicity.  Select a book that you are interested in reading but have not had the time to yet and sit down with the aim of reading it in its entirety in 15 minutes.  The aim is not to read every word in the book, but rather to take a more active approach to your reading and draw out the key concepts.  As such, this method really only works well when reading non-fiction books.  Novels are best left to be read at a leisurely pace as you allow yourself to be immersed in the world created by the author.  Non-fiction books, on the other hand, are designed to be conduits of knowledge - and the extent of the knowledge that you extract from any given non-fiction book is completely up to you.

Now, 15 minutes is not a lot of time.  In fact, it may take you two or three attempts before you have refined the technique to the point where you can comfortable read a book within the 15 minutes.  The more you practice reading in such a condensed time period, the more efficient you become at it and, subsequently, the more information you will be able to take away from any given session.  A successful 15 minute reading experience is one whereby you can quickly identify the key concepts that the author is presenting in the book, mentally highlight key passages of information, and identify 5-10 new pieces of information.  Even when you read a book from cover to cover, within one week of completion you would likely have forgotten over 80% of the content.  Unless you make detailed notes as you read, or have he ability to soak up information in your brain like a sponge does water, conventional reading is hardly an efficient use of your time.

Efficient Reading

Not only is this technique a great way of absorbing information much more efficiently, but you will also begin to read differently.  Gone are the days of conventional reading when you read one word after another, one line after the next, from page to page and chapter to chapter.  Instead, allow your eyes to scan over the page in a circular motion and let the text speak to you.

The human brain has an enormous capacity to absorb information at a much faster rate than we can mentally read yet we persist with the conventional method of reading one word at a time.  As you scan the pages, rather than read the pages, your subconscious mind will quickly identify the key concepts and information that it finds most relevant and highlight that for you.  In this way, your subconscious mind acts as a filter and highlights the key passages that you should read in their entirety.  It will feel strange at first, but as you grow more comfortable with the technique, and accept that it is folly to attempt to memorize every single piece of information that you read, this technique will provide a more enjoyable reading experience. Guaranteed.

The Final Step: Creating A Summary

Reading, however, is not enough.  After completing a book using this method, sit down and spend the next 5 minutes writing a brief summary (aim for approximately one page) of what you have just read, including the key concepts, noting the key phrases, and including the 5-10 pieces of new information that you have learnt.  in the space of 20 minutes you have read and summarized a book and expanded your knowledge in the process.

Go Big or Go Home

Starting Over

These are the three themes of the re-launch of my 12 Projects in 12 Months.  I first published this list back in June 2011 with great gusto and ambition.  But as the months went on this soon gave way to a lack of motivation, or what is more accurately defined as laziness.  Caught up in the whirlwind of the 2011 Rugby World Cup, and my innate desire to sit on the couch watching American sitcoms I failed in my first attempt to take action on these 12 Projects.

But with a New Year comes new opportunities.  Every day is an opportunity to start again.  Yes, you may fail once – or even many times – but failure should not mean that you give up.  Once you give up on your dreams, you give up on your life.   The shame is not in the failure, the shame is in giving up.  That is why I have chosen to start over today.  I believe in this project, and 2012 is the time for us all to begin taking action towards realising our dreams.

I have been reading a lot of wonderful personal development blogs these past few months, and the one that has stood out the most is the Tyler Tervooren’s Advanced Riskology and his 1% Club.  Essentially, the 1%  Club is an ambitious list of experiences and projects that only 1% of the world’s population will ever achieve.  Tyler is creating an amazing community of people who are getting out in the world, pushing the boundaries and truly experiencing life.  I have drawn inspiration from his approach and today I am re-launching the 12 Projects in 12 Months initiative.

12 Projects in 12 Months is a road-map for spreading the  Our World message and taking active steps to making this world a better place.  Because, at the end of the day, writing alone can never compare to taking direct action.

The 12 Projects

Some of these are big, some of them relate more to me on a personal level.  Each is selected with a view towards making a small difference towards the world we live in.

1: Write the Our World Manifesto, a guide to living life true to the philosophy of Our World, that this is Our World to live, Our World to design, and Our World to share.

2: Commit to writing at least one article for Our World each week during 2012 touching on the themes of Humanity, Personal Development, and Economic Development.

3: Continue to make loans through Kiva.org (see article here), and develop a $1,000 Our World community lending fund.

4: Eliminate all household waste through recycling and smart purchasing.

5: Research and locate sustainable clothing manufacturers/sellers from whom to purchase new clothes. (For example, see the work being undertaken by the ladies over at All of Us Revolution.)

6: Identify, and undertake, 50 different methods of helping out and making a difference in my local community.

7: Develop an online forum to debate ideas relevant to the Our World mission and to generate action at the local level.

8: Develop and further experience meditation as a way of achieving inner peace and removing any potential negative energy that I might generate from the shared consciousness.

9: Open my home to couchsurfers and share in this great tradition of meeting new people and experiencing new cultures.

10: Learn to speak Māori so as to better serve my clients and help bridge the divide that sometimes exist between Māori and non-Māori in New Zealand.

11: Learn to speak German, the native language of my girlfriend and her family.  Language can be the doorway to a deeper understanding of people and communities.

12: Establish a community lending organisation to assist Maori landowners in unlocking the economic potential of their land.  This project has long been a passion of mine and this is the year to set about making it happen.  For a brief background analysis of the problem, see my comments over at Māori Law and Politics.  And for an overview of my earlier research on this you can download this paper.

This project is my way of making a difference in 2012.  What is yours?

Work = Freedom

This became my mantra during 2011. Work truly does equal freedom. The fact that I love my job places me firmly in the minority, the fact that my jobs allows me the freedom to work from home and to set my own hours makes me one of the luckiest persons in the world. The benefits from the absence of a daily commute alone have been outstanding, by not having to commute to and from work every day, I have freed up a total of 10 hours each week to use however I choose. It is the kind of freedom that comes after 13 years of hard work, the formation of strong working relationships, and a whole lot of good fortune.

A Whole New World

With increased work flexibility came increased travel opportunities. During 2011 I headed offshore on four occasions, twice to Europe and twice to Australia, visiting an impressive 11 countries (Germany (twice), England (twice), Wales, Japan, Australia (twice), Ukraine, Italy, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, and Switzerland), and exploring a large tract of New Zealand’s North Island. In total, I spent 30% of the year away from home. It was a year of fantastic travel experiences and I aim to carry that forward into 2012.

What continues to surprise me is how many barriers people put up when the issue of travel comes up. When I talk about my trips and my experiences, the most often comment I hear is that “I would love to travel, but …”, and what follows is a plethora of excuses that are often no bar to travel at all but self-constructed barriers. I sense a lot of fear in people about the prospect of travel, and excuses such as lack of money is often used to hide their fear behind. Yes, travelling to foreign lands can be daunting but that is what makes the experience that much more rewarding. In June I spent 4 days in Kyiv visiting my girlfriend’s family and it was one of the most amazing trips I have ever done. Stop using money or work as an excuse and get out there and plan your dream holiday! Never before have we been able to see as much of the world as we can today, and at prices that are affordable to almost everyone in western society.

2012 Plan

One aspect of my life that did not go so well during 2011 was my overall health and well-being.  I over-indulged in too much good food, and spent far too little time outside moving and exercising. After starting 2011 strongly with a meditation course in London, and a strong focus on exploring my spirituality, I lapsed back into bad habits and let matters slide over the course of the year. The effects of these actions flowed through into every aspect of my life. Your overall health and well-being is the most important aspect of your life. The importance of this cannot be understated. That is why I have made my main focus of 2012 to be the improvement of my overall health and well-being. Nutrition, exercise, spirituality, and wonderful experiences will define 2012 and I have set a large number of goals in this area.

Writing is another large theme of 2012. Last year, while I neglected my writing for this project, I was building a large following on a site discussing issues of Māori Law and Politics. The New Zealand general election was an important occasion and a strong Māori voice was required in order to fully debate the issue from a Māori perspective. This year, while I am committed to building on the success of Māori Law and Politics, I am also committing to furthering my discussion on Our World on issues regarding humanity, personal development and economic development. I aim to post a new article at least every Monday this year, and bring great new content for you to enjoy, consider, and discuss. To kick things off, I will be re-launching the 12 Projects next week and will follow through on those during 2012.

Ensuring Success

I am embarking on a very ambitious list of projects in 2012. Alongside my writing and work here, and on Māori Law and Politics, I am also working full-time on historical Treaty of Waitangi claims, completing a LLM degree, tutoring stage I law at the University of Auckland, learning two languages, travelling (Australia, Europe and South America with more to be added as the year progresses), as well as plenty of smaller goals along the way. With so much going on, how will I ensure success in 2012?

The answer is simpler than many would appreciate. It is a combination of good planning, hard work, and discipline. Once you have your plan in place the only thing stopping you from success is yourself. Stop making excuses, get out of your own way, believe in your ability to succeed, and make the commitment to your dreams each and every day.

Here is to a prosperous and enjoyable 2012!

Humanity

At the core of a peaceful and prosperous society is humanity.  Humanity is an acknowledgement that we are all born of the same cloth, and we are all sharing the wonders of this world together.  It is for that reason that I dedicated 2011 to Building a Better World.   Nothing better encompasses my love of humanity more than the joy that comes from those moments of random kindness and interaction, as I write in The Art of Humanity.

At the very heart of humanity is an appreciation of the shared characteristics of human beings.  As I explore in On Race and Nationality, these twin ideas are nothing more than artificial human constructs.  However, there remains an attitude of superiority among western nations, something I picked up on in my travels to South Africa in 2010.  I also discussed this in my article on A Post-Colonial Deconstruction of the FIFA World Cup Vote.

Personal Development

The bulk of writing on Our World deals with issues of personal development.  As I grow, I am continually learning about human nature and exploring new methods and new ideas for living a prosperous life.   It all starts with the idea of living A Meaningful Life.  But before you can live a meaningful life, you need to answer the following question: What’s Your Mission?  What about work-life balance?  The Four Burners Theory has something to say on that.

On your journey of personal development, Intellectual Honesty is crucial to success.  And try not to get caught up in distraction and become part of The iPod Generation.  Nor should you forget your personal life either – adapting to the challenges of Modern Love and Living Multiple Lives will test even the most determined person.  If all else fails, reflect on how far you have come, and take stock through A Message to My Future Self, and relax, unwind, and travel!

There will be occasions when the going gets tough.  Life is not easy, but with some Endurance, a touch of Inspiration, and a little Discipline, you will find your way through.

And if all that fails to provide you with enough insight to further your personal development, then check out the words of wisdom from two people who are living the dream, working and travelling their way around the world.  The king of travel-hacking and lifestyle design, Chris Guillebeau; and cubicle dweller turned world explorer, Nomadic Chick.

Economic Development

With a background in commerce, and a keen interest in the economic development of indigenous peoples around the world, I read widely on the topic of economic development.  Strong economics can change the world, and I set forth two highly progressive ideas to address inequality within our current economic system in a How to Change the World series.  The first two articles cover the concepts of Fluid Shares and Micro Finance.  Talking about micro-finance, check out my experience investing with Kiva.

Looking a bit closer to home, I have commented on the Economic Misfortunes experienced here in New Zealand over the past year, although my Societal Advancement Theory holds that despite the doom and gloom that currently exists around the world, we are actually on a path of constant advancement and this is set to continue.  However, some redesign of the economic system is required, and I spell out one possible change in my article on Communal Capitalism.

12 Projects/12 Months

And finally, check out the ambitious list of projects that I am working on over the coming year.

Thomas Edison

Sometime between the ages of 12 and 15 I decided to stop drinking carbonated drinks.  The exact age that I made this decision is not important but I can still remember the day clearly enough.  It was a typical Christmas dinner at my Aunty’s place, I had just drunk my third bottle of cola in the space of an hour and I remember thinking that this cannot be good for me.  I was too young to know, or even understand, the science behind sugar’s effect on the body yet somehow my mind made the connection between drinking these sugary drinks and my health and weight issues at the time.

Discipline as a Source of Transformation

So I decided to quit.  Then and there I told myself that if I could make it through the next 100 days without having another drink of cola then I would break the habit for life.  Each night before I went to bed I would mark off on my calendar the number of days since I last indulged and as the numbers started to grow so too did my motivation to reach that 100 day mark.  Once I saw 20 days on there I knew that it would be such a wasted effort to give up now that the next 80 days flew by.

It helped that my goal was being driven by a bigger purpose.  I had recently started swimming and found that it was a sport that I did not suck at.  I had played rugby during primary school but could never make it into the first team in a school of 100 children (50% being girls), and I was always coming last during the school cross-country runs.  But swimming I could do.  Quitting the un-healthy drinking habits was an action I could take that would make me a better swimmer and I pursued that with a sheer single-minded obsession.

I had learned early on in life of the importance of discipline.  Discipline is the key factor in success. In fact, I would go so far as to say that success in life has nothing to do with intelligence, or luck, or skill.  Yes, each of those elements will no doubt assist you in deciding what you want to pursue. But success only comes to those who are disciplined enough to go out and consistently work towards their goals.  Over the course of five years, through hard-work and discipline, I transformed myself from the overweight kid who came last every year in the school cross-country run to a multiple regional and national swimming champion.

Discipline + Hard Work = Success

In many respects my efforts to grow this site have failed to date because of a lack of discipline.  It is not through lack of ideas, or even lack of quality content.  The feedback I receive is always overwhelmingly positive.  My downfall here is my lack of discipline.  I have not yet been able to consistently sit down and write.  The mission of this site is something that a lot of people can buy into.  I can see that and I know that you see it as well else you would not be reading this.  As a teenager I successfully applied discipline to an area of my life and achieved an amazing result.  When I hit my early 20′s I was able to apply that same discipline towards the completion of a law degree.  It is a proven formula.  Discipline + Hard Work = Success.  Perhaps it is time to start paying more attention to my younger self.

It is clear to many that the current situation is unsustainable.  Without systemic change, inequality will worsen and the gains of the last century could be reversed.  Last year I wrote an article on an idea that has the potential to change the world. The concept of fluid shares, to briefly recap, advocates the equal distribution of wages throughout an organisation from the CEO to the cleaners. It recognises that everyone employed by an organisation plays a crucial role in the success of that organisation, and brings a level of equality to employee remuneration sadly lacking in today’s corporate world. Let’s look at an example:

Fluid Shares Revisited

Company A employs 15 people – A CEO, four supervisors, and ten shop-floor workers. The CEO earns $500,000 a year; the supervisors $100,000; and the shop-floor workers $40,000. The CEO drives a BMW, lives in a multi-million dollar home and sends his kids to private schools. The shop-floor workers have a car made in the last century and spend all their available money on food and clothing for their children. The total wage bill for Company A totals $1.3 million

Company A then decides to implement fluid shares. It cut is wage bill to $1.2 million and now each employee earns $80,000 each year. Ten workers have seen their incomes double, providing much-needed financial security for themselves and their families. Four workers have experienced a small drop in salary, but still enjoy an enjoyable life, while only one employee (the CEO) has experienced a substantial drop in income. He decided to leave the company. The managers grumbled but eventually conceded that the scheme had some merit and, being in the midst of a recession, decided that a pay cut was better than being unemployed. The shop-floor workers went home to their families with a sense of pride and optimism that they had never felt before.

Of course, attracting qualified people to take the position of CEO was a problem. Many other companies in the industry offer much higher salaries than Company A and many people who had the requisite experience for the job refused to work for only $80,000 a year when they could be earning $500,000. The owners quickly realised that most people in upper management are only interested in one thing – money. The industry, the product, and the people were secondary considerations. Their business would only flourish when the person in charge cared first and foremost about the business and not the pay cheque. In a world full of highly intelligent people, finding someone who believed in a more equitable distribution of wealth and opportunity was not a problem.

Communal Capitalism

Do not get me wrong, I am not advocating for a massive, state-driven, redistribution of wealth. The key tenet for the success of fluid shares is that it is driven by the owners of a company, and therefore has by-in from them, and their employees. It only works when everyone is on the same page and working towards creating a prosperous company where everybody benefits from that prosperity – not just those at the top. Yes, it is communal – it is based around the idea that society benefits when everyone benefits. But at its heart are the very capitalistic ideas of free enterprise, free association, and individual effort. Each member of the team knows that they will prosper only if the business prospers, so the incentive for productivity is maintained. What this example does illustrate is that, at least in the Western World, there is plenty of wealth for everyone.

To understand our current situation we need to cast our eye back 4 years to late 2007. After a decade of strong growth, the first murmurings of problems in the financial markets were started to come through from the United States. Across the Pacific, however, one thing came to dominate every single conversation around the country – the price of milk. While this might sound rather innocuous to many, in New Zealand it is always a big deal. And when it goes up, it generally means that trouble is not to far away. No-one knew at the time, but during the fourth quarter of 2007, New Zealand became the first country in the Western world to fall into recession. Yes, many recognise the United States as being the catalyst for the massive, world-wide recession that hit during 2008, but it’s effects were felt here first – and well before the likes of Bear Sterns or Lehman Brothers fell.

Why was this the case? It was a perfect storm really. Our economy is heavily dependent on agriculture and soaring food prices and a drought during the summer of 2007/2008 combined with the early declines in the real estate sector to return our first recessionary period of decline since the Asian Shock of the late 1990s. As the financial crisis developed, and then imploded, during 2008, our economy continued to sink lower and lower. As Government revenue from taxes fell, long term Government surpluses turned to long term deficits because of our large health, education, and welfare commitments. There was no slack built into the system in the event of an economic downturn. As tax revenues increased during the mid-2000′s, the Government’s welfare policies expanded. Any surpluses were then pumped into a Sovereign Superannuation Fund and locked away for a generation. We had saved for a rainy day, yet when the rain came we were unable to access the funds to see us through. As 2008 was an election year, both major political parties lacked the intestinal fortitude to scale back the inflated welfare state. To quote the opposition finance spokesman, we were staring at a decade of deficits.

The incoming Conservative Government played true to form in 2009 and changed very little. Taxes were cut, some minor changes were made, but their first budget reflected very much a business as usual approach. We did not follow the Keynesian approach adopted by the United States whereby large sums of money were pumped into the economy, nor did we favour the ‘slash and burn’ approach undertaken by the Fourth Labour Government in 1985 in response to a then stalling economy. There was no ‘Black Budget’, nor was there ‘Mother-of-all-Budgets’ (kids, ask your parents, or grandparents) to deal with the ever-increasing Government, burgeoning debt, and an economy going backwards at a rate of knots. The attitude was very much that we will ride this out so now is not the time to do anything drastic.

It appeared to work. Growth was slow during the second half of 2009 and into 2010, but the economy did start growing again. Confidence started to return, the unemployment rate started to track downwards. It was a slow recovery, but considering that we were often spoken of in financial circles in the same breath as Greece, Ireland, Iceland, Spain and Portugal – small growth was a good thing. Our dependence on unproductive property investment was slowly being addressed, and the official policy was moving from that of welfare to that of productive employment. Talk of a double-dip recession occasionally made the headlines, but was quickly dismissed as a fantasy by many. Like in the United States, the economic fear-mongers seemed to have one thing in common – they occupied the opposition benches.

And then disaster. The first earthquake to strike Canterbury in September 2010 may have destroyed vast parts of the province but, miraculously, no lives were lost. The big one had hit and after the shock wore-down, the fine people of the Mainland set about rebuilding their lives. We knew it would come at a cost, but that was secondary to the impact that it had on the people down there. Whatever it took, the Government committed to rebuilding what needed to be rebuilt, and to provide financial assistance to those in need. That is, after all, one of the core tenants on which New Zealand was built – no matter how bad things are, we will look after those of us in need.

Only time will tell whether last months earthquake will cripple our economy. After a brief respite during 2009-2010, the exodus of our best and brightest to Australia and beyond has resumed. Many young, educated New Zealanders are being drawn to resource-rich, and economically strong Australia. Despite high unemployment, there is even talk of large companies failing to find enough qualified staff to fill their ranks. Wages are rising, but it has been decades since we have been able to compete with what is on offer in Sydney, London, New York, Hong Kong or Dubai. Talk of a double-dip recession, due to the increased cost of rebuilding after last months quake (the current estimate is $16 billion), is being seriously considered as an entire province of close to 500,000 people (1/9^th of total population) look on as lives are lost and business unable to function. The effects are being felt across the country. Major infrastructure projects, aimed at increasing productivity in the Auckland (the economic capital) and Wellington, face delays – further reducing the prospects of a return to growth any time soon.

As life slowly returns to normal (for those of us living outside of Christchurch anyway), the economic reality of this disaster is slowly becoming apparent. International credit rating agencies are starting to ask questions about our financial stability and, having only staved of a credit downgrade last year, the prospects are not good this time around. With our Government borrowing $300 million each week in order to stay solvent, the prospects of a credit downgrade, and a corresponding rise in interest repayments, will be another unwelcome visitor to our shores this year.

And it is not just the economy that has the potential to wreck havoc with New Zealand this year. Our social cohesion, and the true state of race relations is going to be put to the test. Currently passing through Parliament is the controversial Takutai Moana Bill – designed to address the ongoing debate over who owns the foreshore and seabed in New Zealand and, in true political style, the focus of the debate is over issues which the Bill does not actually deal with. And while this is definitely a topic for another article, it is suffice to say that segments of both the Maori and Pakeha populations are trying to make more of this then it is in an attempt to push their own agendas. Of bigger consequence, however, is the potential re-writing of New Zealand’s history by the Waitangi Tribunal. Sometime this year, the Tribunal is expected to report on a claim by hapu of Nga Puhi in Northland over the true meaning of the 1835 He Whakaputanga o Nga Rangatiratanga o Niu Tireni (The Declaration of Independence of the Maori Chiefs of New Zealand) and Te Tiriti o Waitangi 1840 (The Treaty of Waitangi). Having attended several of the hearings into these two foundational documents of the Nation-State of New Zealand, I can state here and now that all the evidence points towards a much different version of events than is commonly reflected in the history books. For the first time in 170 years, every New Zealander is about to find out for the first time exactly why Maori are discontented with the way we have been treated by respective Governments and our insistence that the New Zealand that exists today is vastly different from the one which Maori envisaged when they signed Te Tiriti o Waitangi in 1840.

The challenges facing this country are clear for all to see. The economy and race-relations look set to take centre-stage this year on a scale never before seen. A rational, reasoned approach to both issues will see New Zealand continue to develop as a liberal, caring society in which all New Zealanders – Maori, Pakeha, and new arrivals – can be proud to call home. But if, as it often transpires, the debate turns ugly then a massive breakdown in social cohesion threatens to engulf our country. We already see threats of occupations and protests from Maori and Pakeha alike if they fail to get their way on the foreshore and seabed issue. There is potential for Auckland to grow resentful of the large sums of money being diverted away from much needed infrastructure projects to aid the rebuild in Christchurch; Maori, minorities, and immigrants can expect to be targeted as political parties turn their attention to the November General Elections; and there is the small matter of the Rugby World Cup being hosted on these shores in September/October of this year. Another poor showing by the All Blacks, and who knows how the masses will respond.

I cannot profess to having the answers to the challenges we face. It is perhaps true to note that there are no correct answers – we simply have to try something and hope that it works. Both sides of the political spectrum will be pushing their own agendas as the path to salvation – it is election year after-all. In true Our World spirit, I hope we end the year hanging around the camp-fire holding hands and singing “Kumbaya”. My fear is that this could be the year it all falls apart. There is little stopping us from becoming the next Iceland, Greece or Ireland, except for the spirit of New Zealanders. This past month has brought out the best in all of us and never before have I been prouder to call myself a New Zealander. There has been a massive outpouring of grief, and love, and support to all the people of Christchurch. However, the signs are stating to show that this period of goodwill is slowly coming to an end. If we all approach each day in the same spirit that we have this past month, the our country will end 2011 in a very strong position. Revert to type and we face a long period of regression. Which path will we choose? Where will our economy take us this year? I do not know. All I know is, that prior to last months earthquake – the conversations around the country were dominated by one thing – the price of milk.

Filed under: Economic Development ]]> http://jcphitchcock.com/2011/03/10/economic_misfortunes/feed/ 0 joshuahitchcock http://jcphitchcock.com/2011/02/10/the-art-of-humanity/ http://jcphitchcock.com/2011/02/10/the-art-of-humanity/#comments Thu, 10 Feb 2011 10:09:03 +0000 Joshua Hitchcock http://jcphitchcock.com/?p=257 ]]> It is days like today that remind me how lucky I am to call New Zealand home. In the space of three hours I experienced all that is great about this country. Underneath the summer sun, in the shade of a Pohutakawa, my faith in humanity was strengthened.

I awoke to another glorious summer’s day in Auckland. The sun was streaming into my apartment and the water was beckoning. After a relaxing lunch I made my way to the spectacular Parnell Baths alongside the waterfront. The water was crisp and the perfect tonic to an ever-warming sun. I have always loved swimming. From a young age I took to water like the proverbial fish. Long summer days were spent either at the beach or at our local primary school’s pool. In my teenage years I made the transition to competitive swimmer and would spend countless hours each week immersed in water. It was a wonderful way to spend my youth. Now, I enjoy nothing more then a relaxing swim outside. The feeling of pure, unadulterated strength that flows through my body as I flow through the water is something I have never yet experienced on land.

Refreshed, I stopped in the neighbouring park which has recently had a section of rocky coastline converted into a sedate, sandy, inner-city beach. Even on such a glorious day this oasis was sparsely populated. It is truly one of Auckland’s (currently) best-kept secrets. Most of the people there seemed to have stumbled upon it by accident. It was here that I witnessed not one, but two moments of humanity at its finest.

In one corner was a well-travelled, well-spoken, and kind-hearted old man in his swimming outfit following a refreshing swim in the inlet. In the other corner were two young men of Polynesian descent, cooking up a storm on the BBQ. The former was entertaining two young Swedish backpackers, the latter feeding passer-bys with the tasty excess of their mid-summer’s feast.

After six weeks of life in Germany and London I had almost forgotten the sense of community that exists here in New Zealand. There was no obligation on anyone in that park today to share their lives with any of the other people enjoying that little corner of Auckland. It was out of the kindness of their own hearts that they did so. All were strangers. Yet all were family. The man and the Swedish backpackers were exchanging travel stories, and life stories. The chefs offered their food to all who passed by. I was lured over by the sweet aroma of steak and bacon and proceeded to indulge myself in good conversation and good food.

As I surveyed the scene unfolding before me, the smile on my face and the smile in my soul (or Kidney’s for those of you from the Eat. Pray. Love persuasion) grew larger and larger. Everywhere I looked, people were reaching out to each other. Time stopped, because all that mattered was that one moment in time where we experienced the true meaning of living in a community.

This is what life is about, and moments like this have the ability to change the world. If everyone approached their lives with the same generosity and in the same spirit as those people in that oasis did today then humanity’s problems would simply melt away. For all intents and purposes you had six people from immensely different backgrounds conversing, interacting, and sharing. This diversity was celebrated rather than feared. Diversity is not something to fear. It is something to rejoice in. Multiculturalism, contrary to the beliefs of Angela Merkel and David Cameron, has not failed. At least, it has not in that little Eden. Six people made the conscious decision to share a part of themselves with another. And humanity is all the richer because of it.

A European Adventure

A few days ago I returned to Auckland after 6 weeks overseas which, to date, is the longest journey I have embarked on. It was also the most relaxed. During that time, I visited only 4 countries, and stayed in 6 cities. This was unusual for me, but unavoidable as my girlfriend was required to be in London from early January to resume her University course. As has become tradition around here, I share with you the top 10 highlights of my Third European Adventure.

Top 10 Highlights

10: Catching up with family and friends in various cities around Europe.

9: Two lovely days in Cardiff strolling around the waterfront and central city. A beautiful city, with a glorious harbour and fully pedestrianised CBD makes for a very people-friendly city and shows the way for cities of the future.

8: Experiencing London’s top Musicals: The Lion King and Priscilla in the West End were true spectacles.

7: The Christmas Markets in Berlin. Okay, it was -10 Celsius, and we only stayed outside for about an hour but we had a great time wandering around the markets and indulging in fine German food.

6: Post-war Germany. Enough said.

5: Being upgraded on my Air New Zealand flights – the benefits of frequent travelling. The more I fly, the more benefits I accrue with Air New Zealand and on my recent trip I was twice upgraded from Economy to Premium Economy for my flights to and from Tokyo’s Narita airport. More leg room, top quality food, and personal service made these flights a dream to fly.

4: Learning to speak German. One of my 2011 goals is to become fluent in German, and what better way to start then three weeks in Germany. With the help of a Lonely Planet Guidebook, the entertaining hosts of germanpod101.com and the knowledge of my German-speaking girlfriend I was able to put together basic, and crucially important, phrases (For example, kann ich bitte eine wurst haben).

3: The three trips I made to the Emirates Stadium to watch the mighty Arsenal. A 1-1 draw in the FA Cup with Leeds, a 3-0 win over Ipswich Town in the League Cup and a tour of the stadium which took me through the players tunnel onto pitchside. The atmosphere as we beat Ipswich to progress to the League Cup final was immense.

2: The snow! When I arrived into Frankfurt it was -5 Celsius and snowing, an experience I have never had before. The entire country was blanketed in snow and in was absolutely gorgeous. Truly a winter wonderland.

1: Spending 6 weeks with my gorgeous girlfriend in a crisp, but beautiful, European winter.

The 10-country challenge

During 2010 I travelled through five countries, including three countries for the first time. However, I began to notice that I kept returning to familiar places – notably Australia and London. Don’t get me wrong, I adore both these destinations. But my trip to South Africa and Malaysia last June really opened my eyes to the wonders of exploring new regions. Thus, the 10-country challenge was born. I was discussing travel ideas with my girlfriend last month and we quickly came to a realisation that most of the places we wanted to visit, one of us had already spent time there while the other had not. The question arose, how do we choose which countries to travel to then? We decided to make a list of 5 countries each that we had not yet visited but wanted to this year. From that list of 10 countries, we would make it our goal to visit at least 5 during 2011.

The 10 Countries

• Australia
• Austria
• Hungary
• Italy
• Japan
• Morocco
• Scotland
• Tahiti
• Turkey
• Ukraine

For practical purposes, we limited ourselves to Europe and East Asian nations. I guess that is because for me, these are the two regions that fascinate me the most at the moment. Having now made three trips over to Europe, I have a strong desire to travel through Eastern Europe before moving on to other regions of the world. This also makes planning our 2011 travels that much easier. With one trip through Eastern Europe, we can visit Turkey, Hungary, Austria, Italy and the Ukraine. Add in our already planned city break in Melbourne in April and we will have visited 6 of these 10 countries by the end of July.

Alongside the obvious tourist experiences that visiting these countries will provide, each country will allow me to develop further insights into how this world actually exists. I have received several negative comments about the Ukraine yet of all the destinations it is perhaps the one I am most looking forward to visiting. A country of great history, being once part of Russia, then the USSR, on the crossroads of Europe, and one with a tragic past – most notably the devastating famine inflicted on them by the policies of the Kremlin.

One thing is for sure, as I travel I will continue to provide updates and insights into these fascinating countries and I will, no doubt, continue to breakdown the stereotypes and prejudices that exist in our world.